


Maternal Moments

by CoreyWW



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Art, Bicycles, Comedy, Dress Up, Episode: s04e19 Storm in the Room, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Feels, Ficlet, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Humor, Light Angst, Male-Female Friendship, Non-Linear Narrative, One Shot Collection, Pillow & Blanket Forts, Pre-Series, Sad, Slice of Life, Teaching, Toddlers, Video & Computer Games, Young
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-26 02:31:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9858026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoreyWW/pseuds/CoreyWW
Summary: A series of one-shots involving the Gems (and others) in moments of being maternal. In other words, lots of family feels and fluff.





	1. Get Good (Pearl & Steven)

**Author's Note:**

> So these stories are all going to be short one-shots of characters being maternal towards other characters (most of the time with Steven, but not all the time). Seemed like a fun idea as I really like family style fluff. This won't be updated on a consistent schedule, just when I get in the mood for it, but I hope you enjoy them regardless :)
> 
> (Also since these stories are fluff and have a chill tone I'm probably gonna have more casual author's notes in these and share some of the inspiration for these stories. A few of the ones I have planned are definitely cribbed from real life in some fashion, haha).
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl and Steven play video games.
> 
> Unfortunately for Pearl it's not exactly an _easy_ game ...

“Aww!” Steven groaned as the screen read “YOU’RE DEAD” in blood red letters. He dropped the Dolphin controller in his lap and sighed.

That was the thirtieth time he’d died so far.

Steven was about to press start to try again when he heard footsteps. He twisted around to see Pearl coming up the stairs.

“Steven, are you alright?” Pearl said. “You sounded upset ...”

“No, I’m fine,” Steven said with a chuckle. “I just got a little frustrated at this game.”

“Ohhh,” Pearl said with a nod. “I see. Just checking.”

Pearl started to head down the stairs when Steven got an idea.

“Hey, wait!” Steven said.

“Yes, Steven?” Pearl said, stopping in her tracks.

“Well ....” Steven scratched the back of his neck. “I know you don’t really play games but ... do you think you could maybe ... try to help?” He held up the controller.

Pearl blinked for a moment, but then gave a sweet smile.

“Of course,” Pearl said.

Steven grinned.

“Thanks Pearl,” Steven said. “This final boss is pretty hard.”

Pearl sat down with her legs crossed next to Steven.

“I have to admit, I’m surprised you’re asking me instead of Garnet,” Pearl said. “She seems more adept at these things.”

Steven grimaced, thinking back to Garnet’s experience playing the Meat Beat Mania arcade game.

“Yeeeeeaaaah, I ... didn’t think that was the best idea,” Steven said. “I didn’t want to cause a relapse.”

“Ah,” Pearl said.

Steven grinned.

“Besides, you might like this game!” Steven said. “It’s all about patience and finding the perfect time to strike.”  
  
Pearl’s eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Really?” she asked.

“Yeah!” Steven said, excited. “It’s called _Night Spirits_ and you fight these really big bosses that are like a million times tougher than you and you die all the time, _it’s so much fun_!”

Pearl snickered.

“That doesn’t exactly sound fun,” Pearl said.

“It is though! It’s just this final boss is really tough and um ...” Steven scratched his neck. “I-it’d be cool to beat it together.”

Pearl stared at Steven, a tender look in her eyes. She gave Steven a proud smile before she clenched her fist.

“All right! Let’s beat this thing!”  
  
“ _Yeah_!” Steven said. “Now, let me explain how the game works cause it’s kind of complicated. The green bar is your stamina--”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Steven,” Pearl said, picking up the controller. She pressed start. “I’m sure these silly human games can only be _so_ difficult to understan--”

The character on screen let out a cry as “YOU’RE DEAD” flashed on the screen.

Pearl stared in disbelief.

“I ... but I just pressed start,” she whispered.

“Yeeeeaaah, that happens a lot,” Steven said. “Orphan of Kaz is a pretty hard boss.”

Pearl pursed her lips together.

“Ah.” She pressed start, her eyes still locked on the screen. “Well, now that I’m prepared I’m sure I can--”

Another cry. “YOU’RE DEAD” flashed on the screen.

“... I think I actually died faster that time,” Pearl said.

Steven smiled.

“Don’t worry,” Steven said. “I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it.”

“Yes,” Pearl said. “Yes, I’m certain you’re right.”

* * *

Five hours later, the sun had gone down and Steven had stopped counting the number of deaths a few hundred or so back.

“YOU’RE DEAD” flashed on the screen. Pearl remained frozen in place, aside from the slight twitch in her eye. He heard a slight crack as she gripped the plastic of the controller.

“I dodged too late, that was a mistake,” Pearl muttered to herself. “That was a stupid mistake.”

Steven sat next to Pearl, staring at her. He chuckled nervously.

“It’s ... it’s not that big a deal,” Steven said.

“It is when you’ve been in situations where poor reflexes mean the difference between life and death,” she mumbled. “I can’t believe I’ve gotten so sluggish.”

“Um ... Pearl, maybe you should take a break,” Steven said.

“There will be plenty of time for breaks when _we win_ ,” Pearl said, pressing start again.

“Pearl, i-it’s just a game,” Steven said.

Pearl turned to Steven, her eyes wide. There were bags under her eyes.

“I know that,” Pearl said. “But it’s important to you. You wanted to beat the game.” Pearl turned back to the screen. “ _We’re beating the game_.”

Steven shook his head.

“Pearl, I don’t ... I mean, I don’t really care about the game _that_ much! I don’t want you to beat yourself up about it! I just ...” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “I just thought it would be fun to play a game together.”

Pearl did a doubletake back to Steven.

“I ...” Pearl started. She glanced down at the controller, before gently placing it on the floor. “You ... just wanted me to play games with you?”

“Yeah! It just seemed like fun! It’s not about winning!”

Pearl blinked before she let out a nervous chuckle.

“I ... I suppose I sort of forgot what the purpose of a game was for a bit,” Pearl said. She brushed her hand against Steven’s shoulder. “I’m ... sorry, Steven.”

Steven smiled.

“Can we maybe just do a puzzle now?” Steven said. “I’m kind of video game-d out.”

Pearl smiled brightly.

“Of course, Steven,” Pearl said.

Steven got up and started to run down the stairs, when Pearl called out, “Wait!”

Steven turned around to see Pearl’s Gem shine a light in front of the game console. In a second, Holopearl appeared in Steven’s room, standing like a transparent statue.

“DO YOU WISH TO ENGAGE IN COMBAT?” Holopearl said.

“Here,” Pearl said, handing Holopearl the controller and pointing towards the TV. “My advice? Learn to parry.”  
  
“PARRY!”

“Yes, just like that.” Pearl turned back to Steven, smiling. “Alright Steven, let’s go.”

Steven giggled.

“What was that about?” Steven said.

“You still deserve to see the ending of your game _some way_ , Steven,” Pearl said. “Now let’s go do that puzzle.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was a kid, I remember asking my mom to help me with games a lot if I got really frustrated. The one I most vividly remember is Parappa the Rapper for the PS1. Even between both of us, we never got past the freaking toilet level (... that- that's not a joke, that's real. It was a weird game. Youtube it if you've never heard of it, it's a fun watch).
> 
> Also lets just ignore the fact that apparently Not-Dark Souls came out for the Gamecube in the alternate universe of Steven Universe.
> 
> I had fun writing about video game stuff in this one, I should definitely do it more often.


	2. Training Wheels (Amethyst & Steven)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because every kid needs a little help learning how to ride a bike.

“Oof!” Steven shouted after he fell off the bicycle onto the boardwalk. Again.

The bike, which was purple and had a face, turned and said, “You okay, Ste-man?”

“Yeah,” Steven said, dusting the sand off his red shirt. “Thanks Amethyst.”

“No problem,” said Amethyst in bike form. She paused for a moment then said, “You’re doing really good.”

Steven couldn’t help but shake his head. A six year old still having trouble riding about without training wheels didn’t sound good to him. He felt like a _baby_.

After all, if he couldn’t even do _this_ right, how would he ever be a real Crystal Gem someday?

“You, uh,” Amethyst started, “you want to give it another try?”

Steven frowned and hung his head down.

“I dunno,” Steven said. “Maybe I should just go home ...”

Amethyst’s eyes went wide before she glowed and shifted back to her normal form. She walked up to Steven.

“Hey, come on, you can’t give up now!” Amethyst said. “You were doing so good!”

“But-” Steven started.

“When was the last time you ever saw me give up, huh?” Amethyst said. “ _Never_!”

“Um ... actualllly you gave up yesterday when Garnet asked you to help clean up Dad’s tools when he was working on the house. Like ... after a couple minutes.”

“Oh ... oh right, that did happen,” Amethyst said. “But _you_ still shouldn’t give up!”

“But ... what if I fall again?” Steven said.

“Then _so what_. I’ll be there to help you up.”

Steven felt a smile creep back on his face.

“Thanks,” Steven said. “Maybe I’ll try a few more times today.” He laughed. “You’re so smart, Amethyst.”

Amethyst folded her arms proudly.

“Of course! That’s why _I’m_ the leader,” Amethyst said.

“I thought Garnet was the leader,” Steven said.

Amethyst gave a nervous smile, before leaning down, her hand to the side of her mouth.

“Well, I like to _let_ her think that,” Amethyst whispered. “Buuuuut let’s just keep that between us. Okay, little man?” She winked.

Steven giggled and nodded.

Amethyst glowed and shifted back into the bicycle.

“Alright, hop on, Steven,” Amethyst said. She rang the bell on her handlebars.

“Okay,” Steven said. “You ... sure me sitting on you like this doesn’t hurt?”

“Nah!” Amethyst said.

Steven swung his leg over onto the seat.

“AHHHHHHH!” Amethyst shouted.

Steven froze, whipping his head down to look at Amethyst.

“Oh my gosh, Amethyst, are you--”

“Just kidding, hehe,” Amethyst said.

The handlebar formed a hand and helped Steven settle on the seat. Steven laughed again, already starting to forget how sad he had felt a few minutes ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There wasn't much of a deeper inspiration for this one aside from the mental image of Steven learning how to ride a bike on a shapeshifted Amethyst is adorable to me.


	3. Playtime (Garnet & Steven)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fun day playing with a toddler.

“Okay,” Greg said, grabbing his keys. “Thanks again for doing this, Garnet.”

“No problem,” Garnet said, standing in the storage shed. Behind her, she could hear Steven digging in the various boxes.

“I hope he’s not a handful,” Greg said. “I figure there’s probably enough junk in the storage unit to help keep him occupied a little bit.” Greg hesitated. “Okay, he already ate so he should be fine till I get back. I put his potty in that open area right over there, and um .... I guess that’s it. You didn’t have any questions, did you?”

Garnet said nothing.

Greg paused, then chuckled.

“Right, right. Nevermind,” Greg said. “Alright, I gotta go.”

“Have fun at the dentist,” Garnet said.

Greg raised an eyebrow.

“Will I _really_?” he said.

Garnet frowned.

“No,” she said.

Greg sighed.

“Right ...” Greg crouched down and called out. “Okay Stu-ball, Daddy has to go.”

From behind Garnet, Steven ran out, a pink star shirt almost too big for him almost dragging along the floor. He gave a big smile and hugged Greg’s leg.

“I love you, Daddy,” he said cheerily.

Greg rubbed his head full of curly black hair.

“Love you too, kiddo,” Greg said. He started walking away. “Have fun you two.”

Garnet gave a wave.

“We will,” she said.

Garnet looked down at the three year old. Steven tilted his head down and smiled bashfully.

“So, tell me what you’d like to do today, Steven,” Garnet said.

Steven giggled.

“Um ... wanna play dress-up?” Steven said.

Garnet thought for a moment.

* * *

Steven waddled out of the box of clothes with a lab-coat dragging against the floor. He also wore an old pair of reading glasses on his face.

“Lookie, I’m a science man!” Steven said.

Garnet nodded, a pair of reading glasses resting in front of her visor.

“You sure are,” Garnet said.

Steven saw the glasses on Garnet’s face and laughed.

“You’re funny!” Steven said.

“That’s a very nice thing to say,” Garnet said with a smile.

Steven turned his head towards a pile of boxes resting against the wall.

“Lots of boxes ...” Steven said.

“Yes,” Garnet said.

Steven turned back to Garnet, flinging the glasses off.

“Wanna make a fort, please?” Steven said.

Garnet nodded, carefully considering the suggestion ...

* * *

Steven climbed up on Garnet head as they both looked down at the stacks of boxes and blankets that made up their fort.

“Fort Steven is finished,” Garnet said.

Steven raised one hand, his other holding him firmly on top of Garnet’s hair.

“Yay, Fort Steven!” he said.

Steven yawned.

“What’s next?” Steven said, worn out.

“Hmm ... you pick,” Garnet said.

Steven was silent for a minute.

“Wanna color?” Steven said.

* * *

Steven laid in the floor, dragging his crayon across the paper.

“All done!” Steven held up the picture he drew: a tiny boy with a pink dot on his stomach holding hands with a giant red lady with a square for a head.

“I like that one,” Garnet said, scribbling on a piece of paper with crayons of her own.

“Me too!” Steven said. “What you draw?”

Garnet held up her paper. It had a tiny boy holding hands with a tiny blue Gem with long hair and a tiny red Gem with a square-shaped head.

“It’s me!” Steven said, throwing his hands up.

“Yep,” Garnet said.

He tilted his head and pointed to the other two Gems.

“Who are they?” Steven asked.

“Hmm ...” Garnet smiled. “It’s a secret.”

Steven looked confused, but after a moment smiled and went back to coloring.

Garnet looked at her drawing and smiled.

_You’re a sap,_ Sapphire thought with a laugh.

_So are you,_ Ruby replied.

_I know._


	4. Reading (Rose & Steven)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven wants a book read to him at bedtime.
> 
> That's a normal thing to want, right?

“The cake was eight beautiful layers decorated with strawberries ...” Rose read from the book Steven brought her. He sat next to her, her hand on his head.

He felt safe, having his mom read him a book. Safe and reassured and ... _normal_.

He yawned. Rose looked up from the book.

“Are you tired, Steven?” she asked.

Steven nodded sadly. He knew it was getting late.

“I guess ...” Steven said. “This was a lot of fun.”

“I thought so too,” Rose said, smiling.

Steven sighed. His stomach felt uneasy for just a moment before he reached out and hugged her.

“I ... I love you, mom,” he said, guilty he had hesitated even a little.

“I love you too, Steven,” said Rose as she wrapped his arms around him.

It felt warm for only a few seconds before she disappeared in a puff of pink clouds.

* * *

The Gems got back from the mission that morning. Pearl was the one to wake Steven up. She asked what Steven did while they were gone.

“Oh ...” Steven said, not sounding sad at all. He hesitated. “Just ... spent some time reading ...

"By myself.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you didn't think we were done. This is probably the last OBVIOUS one to do in a series like this.
> 
> Tune in next time for a few stories that don't have Steven in them.


End file.
